The Tale of Lundi
by FloodBait
Summary: These are the adventures of a Dunmer named Lundi. A thief. A crook. But fate has given her a new chance at life. Freed from the Imperial Prison and entrusted with the Amulet of Kings, Lundi sets out on a journey she never exactly agreed to...
1. An Unlikely Elf

Lundi...

A proud and strong Dark Elf.  
Entrusted with the Amulet of Kings.  
Witness of Emporer Uriel's death.  
Freed from the horrible Imperial jail...

And then locked in the Bruma jail...

Growing rather arrogant, Lundi shook the bars of her smelly, cramped, and dim cell. A Bruma jailer strolled up with a smirk on his pig-like Imperial face. His old yellow curiass lay in a heap on a nearby table along with his sword and shield. By the looks of his tired and irritated face, he was assigned here all night.  
"Please Dunmer, stop. Shaking your cage won't get you out any quicker." He stopped in front of the cold bars and thwacked them with his gauntlet, making a loud and annoying rattle. "Boy oh boy, you've really become a thorn in our side ever since that incident with the horses. Seriously, what kind sick drudge drowns horses?"

She spoke up, "Actually, they were dead before I threw them in the lake. Paint Horses are so...clumsy."

"Keep up that tone and you'll find yourself here another week." the guard crept along the cell and dangled the keys in front of her face. "It is my decision." Still keeping that smirk plastered on his face, he went back to a table and sat, picking up a mug.

"You know," Lundi proclaimed, "I don't think taking something from the floor is illegal. You Imperials are so uptight!"

The guard cocked an eyebrow, "Right, it is a stupid rule. But thieves such as you shouldn't be given one chance to steal anything."

Lundi didn't know that picking up an apple from the floor of Nord Winds would give her a week of jail time! It just fell on the floor and was staring her in the face! Mocking her! She had to pick it up for the sake of cleanliness. But a yellow clad guard caught her and she took jail instead of the fine.  
And the fine was nothing really big...only five gold, actually. But Lundi was proud; she would rather be thrown into the gaping maw of Oblivion before she gave even one gold to those damned guards.

She had been to the Bruma jail many times. It seemed more like home to her than the shabby house on the Imperial Waterfront.  
Lundi sighed, settling herself into the scraggly straw that she laid over her bedroll. She began to doze, the actual punishment for being locked in jail was boredom. The prison actually served better food than what she could afford.

"Hey!" the jailer shouted in her direction.

Lundi looked up with a scowl, "What."

The Imperial held a quill in his hand and a parchment stained with mead lay on his table, "What's your name, elf?"

"Lundi," she muttered before laying back down on her side. She watched the jailer with a mocking expression.

He began to write on the parchment for a while, then held it up so she could see. "This goes to the Countess, Lundi. Anymore offenses and your banned from Bruma."

She crossed her arms, but kept herself propped up on an elbow. "You can be sure I won't cause anymore trouble here. Just for the sake of not being stuck in a jail with you as the guard." She suppressed a giggle.

The jailer's expression did not change. He folded the parchment and pinned it under a mug. "Well, I guess I'm doing my job right, then."

"Hmph." She chewed on her lip, anxiously hoping those guards were taking good care of her weapons. She went through a lot of trouble to get that Goldbrand and explored countless ruins and forts to get the armor that suited her well enough.

Something caught the jailer's attention and he looked over his shoulder, standing out of his chair at the same time. Another Bruma guard came into the jailroom, holding another prisoner in wrist irons. A Nord.

He was a tall bulky man with messy brown hair that made him almost resemble an animal. But then again, most Nords look that way; Lundi was surprised by how such a wild figure would've been captured by the guard. The jailer saluted to the other soldier and took the Nord in. He didn't bother to look around for an empty cell; he headed straight for Lundi's. He unlocked the gate and pushed the unstruggling Nord through, almost having him tread over the Dark Elf.

With a sneer, the jailer locked the gate again and returned to his mug of mead. Lundi gaped at him, off all the empty cells in this place he had to stick that man into her's?  
Oh, she wouldn't forget this.

The bear-like Nord grasped the bars, staring straight into nothingness, not bothering to acknowledge Lundi. Casually, she laid back in her bedroll and eyed the Nord with a playful grin.

"So...what are you in for?"

-  
A bit short, yes. But I hope to get better with experience. :) 


	2. Freedom

"So, what are you in for"

The Nord looked at Lundi with a fixed stare and curled up his lip in a disturbing manner. "I didn't do nothin'. I was framed, see?"

Lundi nodded, "I'm sure your innocent...that's why your in jail. If you were blank enough to get caught for a crime you didn't commit, then I guess your dumber than you look." she gave a smirk.

The Nord turned to her and clenched his fists. "You'd best watch your tongue, elf.  
"Yes. Yes. We all know you don't have the guts to strike a poor Dunmer maiden. So why don't you just give up the act?"

He cracked his knuckles, "Try me"

"I think I already have." she sat up from her bedroll in a leisurely way, giving the Nord a taunting look. She wanted him to attack.

And sure enough, he did. "Oh, I'm going to enjoy this, elf." He launched himself at her, knocking her over, grasping her throat, and squeezing hard. She was in pain, yes, but the pain would pay off. It would earn her freedom. She just hoped his enormous muscles didn't crush her too soon.

The jailer jumped out of his seat, drawing his sword and rushing over to their cell. "Hey! You stop that, now!" The Nord payed him no attention, his wild eyes were fixed on Lundi's, in simple bliss of her pain. The guard hurried to unlock the gate, opening it and stumbling through. Lundi struggled to breath, she didn't think the Nord would be so intent on killing her.  
Quickly, the jailer held up his sword and brought it down the the Nord's bare back. He only gritted his teeth to the pain, but continued to strangle his Dunmer taunter.

Again, the jailer struck the Nord, even harder. He yelped and let Lundi go, leaving her to gasp for air on the ground like a fish out of water. The jailer and Nord were now locked in battle...giving Lundi a chance. She crept around them and looked to her left; the guard had foolishly left the cell gate open. Grinning at the chance of freedom, she bolted through the gate. Neither the guard nor the Nord saw her escape.

Kicking off her sandals and cracking her wrist irons against the wall, she scurried through the hallway, looking for the chest that held all her equipment. Door after door she looked, aware to avoid the Bruma guards. At last, she found the chest, stored in a small, candle-lit room, stuffed in the corner. Actually, there were several chests, each of them holding her armor and weapons.

Pulling out a lockpick from a nearby barrel, she picked the lock of the chest and opened it to find...more lockpicks. "Hm." A chest full of lockpicks...

She used one to unlock the next chest; this one held her armor and money. "Ah ha." she whispered. She threw on her dwarven greaves, glass running boots, and a plain burlap vest. She never cared for having bulky chest armor on. She liked to be flexible.

The next chest held her Goldbrand. "Oh." she grinned, hugging the sword as a piece of treasure. She loved this sword, more than her own mother.  
Clambering footsteps of soldiers came down the halls, looking for her. Quietly, she peeked through the wooden door, seeing the yellow curiass of a soldier and the gleaming silver of his sword. Effortlessly, he pushed through the door, holding the sword at Lundi's throat.

"Your under arrest...again." he smirked.

...She didn't know what happened after that. It was a flurry of steel and screams...and red. Suddenly she found herself standing over a dead man, her sword bloody. The horrid realization came to her.  
The only thing she could do was run, run out of the Bruma castle, out of the town...into the snowy mountains. She had done many crimes...but never murder. Never murder.  
She kept running, as if all her guilt would fly behind her. But guilt catches up with you quickly...very quickly. Sheathing her bloody Goldbrand, she stopped at a snow covered inn.

Lundi stepped inside, feeling as if everyone stared at her, but really no one payed attention. They were too busy getting drunk. The innkeeper eyed her with a friendly smile. "What can I do for you, my purple skinned friend?"

She sighed, "I'd like a room, please." Keeping her head down, she reached for her money.

"We have a nice room open for only ten gold. Interested?" he leaned over his counter.

Lundi looked into her hand, she held exactly ten gold. Looking up at the Breton innkeeper's warm face, she nodded. "Yes" and handed him the gold. "Its all I have."

"Very good. Second door to the right. Sleep well."

Lundi nodded. She had no money now...what will she do? Opening the door to her room, she took off her greaves and boots, unlatching Goldbrand and slipping off her shield. The heavy weight of murder burdened her. It would be a rough night.

She made herself comfortable in the cot and closed her eyes, hoping she could just wish away all her wrong doings. She hadn't regretted anything until now.

As she fell asleep, the air became cold and a dark shadow crept along the walls... 


End file.
